UAlbany gets priority right

Published 11:42 pm, Saturday, February 18, 2012

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Rendering of proposed UAlbany athletic building.

Rendering of proposed UAlbany athletic building.

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Rendering of the renovated track and field venue at a press conference where University at Albany President George Philip announced site of the New Athletic Field Complex, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012 in Albany, N.Y. The new track and field venue will meet NCAA Division I standards. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union) less

Rendering of the renovated track and field venue at a press conference where University at Albany President George Philip announced site of the New Athletic Field Complex, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012 in Albany, ... more

Photo: Lori Van Buren

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Rendering at a press conference where University at Albany President George Philip announced site of the New Athletic Field Complex at UAlbany, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union) less

Rendering at a press conference where University at Albany President George Philip announced site of the New Athletic Field Complex at UAlbany, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times ... more

Photo: Lori Van Buren

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View of the Physical Education Building and University Field on the University at Albany campus in Albany, N.Y., Monday Feb. 13, 2012. The University at Albany is accepting bids on a new athletic facility project and expects to begin work this spring. The project, which also includes new fields and a track, should be concluded by Feb. 21 and construction should begin by April, said Lee McElroy, vice president for athletic administration. (Will Waldron / Times Union) less

View of the Physical Education Building and University Field on the University at Albany campus in Albany, N.Y., Monday Feb. 13, 2012. The University at Albany is accepting bids on a new athletic facility ... more

Photo: WW

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University at Albany President George Philip announces site of the New Athletic Field Complex at UAlbany on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

University at Albany President George Philip announces site of the New Athletic Field Complex at UAlbany on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Photo: Lori Van Buren

UAlbany gets priority right

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Sarah LaMountain, a University at Albany senior, believes the school's dilapidated football stadium and track require serious repairs, if not rebuilding.

But she's not among those cheering the $24 million project that calls for a new football facility, track and intramural field.

Her beef: This all comes as her school is eliminating one of her majors, Russian. In a few months she will be among the final UAlbany students to graduate with a degree in that foreign language.

"All they've done is raise tuition, cut programs, cut classes," said LaMountain, a Latham native. "If we're in a recession, I don't think it's responsible to build a football stadium."

Her anger is understandable.

But it's also misguided.

The fact that a university touting "The World Within Reach" has slashed foreign language offerings is regrettable, but the issue is entirely unrelated to athletic facilities.

This is not the case of warped priorities it appears to be.

UAlbany should build its football stadium.

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Divisive as this issue may be, most would agree on a few premises.

First, UAlbany needs a new football facility. The current stadium, a mess of crumbling concrete with a grass playing surface barely suitable for grazing cows, is a joke at best and unsafe at worst. The track doesn't even conform to NCAA standards.

To argue that UAlbany doesn't need to significantly upgrade its football facility is, essentially, to argue the school should abolish its football program.

"We've seen at UAlbany over the past few years an increase in executive salaries, cuts to programs, and here they are trumpeting the construction of a new sports complex," said Sean Collins, an organizer of a student-led campaign called "Save our SUNY."

"It seems to us like broken priorities"

It seems that way.

But perceptions aren't always reality.

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The fact is the $18 million in state funding for new athletic facilities comes from an appropriation for capital projects. And that appropriation is completely separate from UAlbany's general fund, which pays for things like foreign language programs.

In plain English, a capital appropriation is money the state gives the school to build stuff. The money comes as bonds, not cash. That's an important distinction, too.

Even if the university wanted to, it can't use capital bonds to fund endeavors like hiring professors, restoring academic programs and offsetting tuition spikes.

"It's not money that I can use for the general operating budget," university president George Philip said.

So we can argue academics versus athletics, but in this case, the forces aren't competing.

If UAlbany were given a choice between spending $18 million to restore academic programs or building a football stadium, it should choose the former. But that isn't what the state is offering.

This isn't about a theater and arts program versus a football team. Or lowering tuition versus fixing the track. Or hiring professors versus constructing an intramural field.

It's building an athletic facility, or nothing.

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One could argue UAlbany should have asked instead for capital appropriations to build more academically friendly facilities, but it's not like the school is neglecting those needs.

Its other capital project is a new business school.

One also could argue the State of New York should be padding the school's general fund instead of subsidizing capital projects. That's a reasonable argument, but with a significant caveat.

The state subsidizes UAlbany's general fund with cash, not bonds — and our state isn't exactly awash in cash.

If for now it's capital appropriations the state makes available to SUNY schools, UAlbany might as well fight for its fair share.

And make no mistake: This is a terrific deal for UAlbany. The school gets a new football stadium and only has to raise $6 million to pay for it. UAlbany isn't even responsible for the debt on the bonds. The state is.

UAlbany students have another gripe: This process unfolded in fits and starts and without enough transparency. They're right.

But at least the haphazard process led to a much more appropriate facility than was floated five years ago, when UAlbany officials talked about a 15,000-seat stadium that would have cost north of $60 million.

This facility appears more reasonable, and UAlbany should build it, no matter how bad the optics. Looks can be deceiving.